The Pope is visiting DC and President Bush takes him out for an afternoon on the Potomac…sailing on the pres. yacht, the Sequoia. They're admiring the sights when, all of a sudden, the Pope's hat (zucchetto) blows off his head and out into the water. Secret service guys start to launch a boat, but Bush waves them off, saying “Wait, wait. I'll take care of this. Don't worry.”
Bush then steps off the yacht onto the surface of the water and walks out to the Holy Father's little hat, bends over and picks it up, then walks back to the yacht and climbs aboard. He hands the hat to the Pope amid stunned silence.
The next morning the topic of conversation among Democrats on the Hill, Hollywood celebrities, and in France and Germany is: “Bush Can't Swim.”
